To a list that already includes celebrity authors James Patterson, David Baldacci, T.C. Boyle, Dave Barry, Jeff Kinney, Bobby Deen and Gregg Allman, we can add another name — Al Gore.

The former vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner will speak at the 2013 Savannah Book Festival on Feb. 16 at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Telfair Square, organizers announced today. Gore will speak for 40 minutes about his latest book, “The Future,” then spend 20 minutes answering questions submitted on note cards by audience members. Attendance is free.

“It’s amazing,” said Ann Higbee, Savannah Book Festival vice president. “From the festival’s point of view, it’s a very exciting development.

“We are going into our sixth festival. That’s a very short period of time to establish yourself in the international world of book festivals.

“What we are finding is that Savannah is doing a very good job within the publishing community in establishing itself as having a real literary appetite,” she said. “As a consequence, authors have shared this with their own publishers and agents, and it’s clear their experience is the kind they really enjoy and want to have.”

The book festival does everything it can to make authors’ visits memorable.

“That means everything we do from a hospitality point of view to embracing them and welcoming them and informing them about the city,” Higbee says.

Authors enjoy participating in the festival’s SBF@School program. In December, books donated by Patterson were presented to Oglethorpe and Bartlett middle schools and Johnson and Beach high schools as part of the program.

Each year, authors visit local schools. For the first time, the festival is placing an emphasis on the young adult genre, giving it its own theme, “Find Yourself in Books.”

“Those kinds of things have created in a very quick period of time a real essence that this is a good place for authors to come,” Higbee said. “The format we use is one they want to participate in.”

As a result, publishers are letting the festival’s organizers know they have authors who’d like to come to the festival.

“Random House, which publishes Al Gore, called us,” Higbee said.

“They’re putting together a speaking tour for his new book, which is coming out at the end of the month. They asked if the Savannah Book Festival would like to have him.”

The festival’s executive director, Robin Gold, said yes, and immediately contacted the festival board’s executive committee, which sent the word out to all board members.

“We all agreed to invite him to participate,” Higbee said. “We felt this is the kind of environment consistent with what he is trying to accomplish with his book tour.”

“The Future” will be available Jan. 29. In it, Gore identifies the six critical drivers of global change: economic globalization leading to the emergence of “Earth Inc.,” a new and different relationship to capital, labor, consumer markets and national governments; worldwide digital communications, Internet, and computer revolutions leading to the emergence of “The Global Mind;” a profound shift in the balance of global political, economic and military power; a flawed economic compass leading to unsustainable growth; genomic, biotechnology, neuroscience and life sciences revolutions; and the disruption of the relationship between human beings and the earth’s ecosystems.

The book has been compared to previous bestsellers, including Alvin Toffler’s “Future Shock” and John Naisbitt’s “Megatrends.”

Gore is co-founder and chairman of both Generation Investment Management and Current TV. He is a senior partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and a member of Apple Inc.’s board of directors, but spends the majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a nonprofit devoted to solving the climate crisis.

In his political career, Gore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives four times and the U.S. Senate twice. He served eight years as vice president to President Bill Clinton.

His other bestselling books are “Earth in Balance,” “The Assault on Reason” and “Our Choice.” Gore is the co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize shared, in two equal parts, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The festival hit a home run last year when Stephen King presented the keynote address.

“He put out the word that this was a good place to come,” Higbee said.

“We invited 25 students from Armstrong Atlantic, Savannah State, SCAD and Georgia Southern, and those 100 students met with Stephen King privately,” she says. “That was a really big thing to Stephen King that he got to meet young, aspiring, inquiring minds.”

This year, beloved children’s author Jeff Kinney of the “Wimpy Kid” series and creator of the Poptropica website, is coming.

“Last year, we had Pat Conroy, who packed the place as well,” Higbee said. “It really came about because of the relationship we’ve been able to establish within the publishing community.

“It’s consistent with what the festival has been about from the very beginning. We’re bringing writers who will bring a following.

“That’s what is good for the city and the region,” she says. “Our primary aim is to bring a combination of diverse writers who will attract many different reading genres. It’s a win-win for the city and Al Gore’s agent thinks it’s a win-win for them.”

IF YOU GO

The 2013 Savannah Book Festival will take place Feb. 14-17.

• At 6 p.m. Feb. 14 at Trustees Theater, the kickoff ceremony with Dave Barry will be followed by a book signing. Tickets are $10.

• From 1-3 p.m. Feb. 15 at Trustees Theater, a lifestyle presentation featuring Bobby Deen with Kimberly Whitman will be followed by a book signing. The cost is $10.

• At 6 p.m. Feb. 15 at Trustees Theater, James Patterson will present the keynote address. Tickets are $10.

• From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 16, dozens of author events will take place in Telfair Square at the Jepson Center, Telfair Academy, Trinity United Methodist Church and venue tents with more author presentations followed by book signings. All events are free and open to the public.

At 10:15 a.m., Al Gore will speak and sign his book, “The Future,” at Trinity United. From noon to 2 p.m., Gregg Allman will sign his book, “My Cross to Bear.”

• At 3 p.m. Feb. 17, the closing address with David Baldacci will be presented. Tickets are $10.

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Will Mr. Gore be explaining why he decided to profit by selling Current to the anti-American Al-Jazeera news agency, and at a time when he will be able to avoid the tax increases on the top 2% of Americans?

Actually, Al-Jazeera is a well-respected news agency worldwide. Al Gore can sell his network to whomever he pleases. At least he didn't sell it to Glenn Beck (who DID make an offer). Did you know one of the major shareholders in Fox News is an Arabian prince?

is a hypocrite of the highest order.I hear leftist talk about inherited weath and silver spoons in mouths, but for some reason Al's name never comes up. I hate to be the one to tell you, but Al-Jazeera is hate filled and anti - western democracy, also anti - semitic. Glenn Beck would have been a better choice.

could care less if it was a muslim outfit or anti-Jewish outfit. If the money fits, you'll take it. How's that Global Warming or Climate Change working for ya Al? Not too well!!!! Had to find some other way to make millions. You were a lazy no good below average C & D student at Harvard and you flunked and dropped out of theology school. Al Bore, you rode your Daddy's shirt tales. Just ask his roomate, the actor, Tommy Lee Jones.

Al Gore at every turn on record, is a hypocrite of the highest order and an opportunist of the lowest. Arguably a criminal at some levels. I hope the liberty minded, the freedom minded and the fact informed will protest his presence here. This is ripe opportunity for those who are AWAKE.